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The Darley July Cup

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  • Distance
  • Class
  • Group
  • Prize money

History

If you want a tip as to which horse will end the season as Europe’s top sprinter, then look no further than Newmarket’s Darley July Cup.

One of the most valuable and prestigious sprints of the British Flat racing calendar, the July Cup has a record of attracting the best contenders.

Jockey Hayley Turner had cause to celebrate in 2011 as she became the second woman to win a British Group 1 race on board the David Simcock-trained Dream Ahead. Run over six furlongs (1,200 metres) of the July Course, the Darley July Cup is open to three-year-olds or older while in 2013 Lethal Force smashed the track record with a pillar-to-post victory. In 2014 Slade Power followed in Lethal Force’s footsteps, winning both the Diamond Jubilee and the Darley July Cup.

2020 saw a memorable victory for connections of Oxted. Not only was the victory a first Group 1 win for trainer Roger Teal, but it was also a first Group 1 for Cieren Fallon Jr – A race his father, Kieren Fallon, never managed to win in his illustrious career.

Queen Victoria may have been hard to amuse but the first two runnings of this race, in 1876-7, must have raised a faint smile. Both were won by Springfield, who was bred by the monarch.

Current leading jockeys: John Egan, Paul Hanagan and Adam Kirby – all 2 wins
Current leading trainers: Aidan O’Brien, 5 wins (1999, 2001, 2010, 2018, 2019).

Previous winners

Year Horse Jockey Trainer Owner Prize money

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No/Draw Horse/Jockey Age Form/Type BHA Rating Weight Trainer Odds

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Fallon Jr. secures maiden Group 1 aboard Oxted

Roger Teal and Cieren Fallon Jr both broke their maiden Group 1 tag in a thrilling Darley July Cup on Saturday.

In a race packed with speed and quality on paper, the 2020 Darley July Cup looked set to be a memorable renewal and it didn’t disappoint.

In a field containing Group 1 winners Golden Horde and Hello Youmzain, Fallon Jr. always had Oxted handy and remained on the pace for the entirety of the six-furlong dash. The main protagonists also held good positions and a thrilling finish unfolded in the final furlong.

Evenetual-winner Oxted made his move two furlongs out between Golden Horde and the tiring Hello Youmzain.

Once hitting the front, Oxted was always doing enough to repel the challenge of Sceptical and Frankie Dettori for a memorable victory for connections.

Joyous scenes unfolded off the track as both Roger Teal and his son, Harry could be seen sprinting down the track willing the horse home.

After the race in an interview with ITV’s Oli Bell, Fallon Jr. said “I can’t put it into words, I’m speechless Oli. I was just a passenger on a very good horse today.”

Fallon Jr. comes from racing stock, with his father, Kieren Fallon having won multiple Group 1’s and was a six-time Champion Jockey. However last year’s Champion Apprentice has already got one up on his father who himself never won the Darley July Cup.

Results

Position Horse Jockey Trainer Owner
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The Course

Newmarket is known as the “Home of Racing” - and who would argue?

  • Course plan
  • Course Intro

Certainly not James I, the first notable fan who built a palace in the Suffolk town in 1605. Racing fanatic Charles II followed suit, establishing the first horse race ever run in Britain under written rules. The Rowley Mile Racecourse, indeed – one of two at Newmarket, the other being the July Course – is named after his favourite hack, Old Rowley.

Today, Newmarket is horseracing’s centre of the Universe, with 2,500 thoroughbreds in training, shared by 75 licensed trainers and spread out over 2,800 acres of training grounds. Oh, and there’s also enough space left over for 65 stud farms, including the National Stud, and Tattersalls, the biggest horse sales company in Europe.

The QIPCO 2000 Guineas, one of Britain’s five Classics, is hosted by Newmarket. The race was first run in 1809. The venue also stages the QIPCO 1000 Guineas.

Getting there

Newmarket Racecourses,
Westfield House,
The Links,
Newmarket,
Suffolk,
CB8 0TG

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